News

The deadline for submission is 8 February 2016, 23:59 UTC.

LCOGT is soliciting proposals for key projects: large, coherent observing programs designed to take maximum advantage of the unique capabilities of the LCOGT network to address important astrophysical problems. The goal of key projects is to produce the highest-impact science that can be done with the Network.

LCOGT plans to dedicate up to 3000 additional hours of its 1-meter network time and 600 additional hours of its 2-meter network time in semesters 2016A & B together to key projects. The 1-meter time is limited to 1000 hours in semester 2016A. Key projects should have a duration of not less than one year but not more than three years. LCOGT is currently conducting observations for four key projects, one of which is ending in the current semester. We expect to approve one or two additional key projects for the start of the 2016A semester.

Definition of Key Projects

Key projects should have substantial scientific impact on problems that are widely considered to be of significant astrophysical interest . Key projects require a large number of hours (at least 500), and may require observations over several years (nominally up to 3 years). Key projects often provide observational or derived data sets that are of interest to other researchers, in part because they can gather observations of a particular class of object in a coherent and uniform way.

Key projects are carried out by well-organized teams with strategic management of effort and resources. They are likely to require resources in addition to the telescope time, perhaps computing for analysis or theoretical studies, or time on other telescopes to make follow-up observations on a subset of science targets. We hope that teams that are developing proposals investigate overlapping science interests at other partner institutions.  Cross-institutional teams will be preferred.

Key projects have a final goal; they are not just a data gathering exercise. The projects should be designed so that the resources are available (or there is a plan for acquiring the resources) to accomplish that goal.

The 2016A semester runs from 1 April to 30 September 2016. The 2016B semester runs from 1 October 2016 to 31 March 2017.

In 2016A, LCOGT Network has nine 1-meter telescopes and two 2-meter telescopes available for science observations. The SBIG cameras installed on some of the 1m telescopes are being replaced with Sinistro cameras during the (current) 2015B semester. The distribution of Sinistros and SBIGs will be announced before the start of the 2016A semester. The 2m telescopes are equipped with Spectral imagers and FLOYDS low-dispersion spectrographs.

We will begin deploying the Network of Robotic Echelle Spectrographs (NRES) during the 2016B semester. By the 2017B semester, we expect to have four NRES instruments deployed. Also in 2017, two 1m telescopes will be installed at Ali Observatory (China). Key projects that are in progress may use these resources when they are added to the Network, but we discourage proposals for key projects that can only meet their goals with the application of these resources.

Eligibility

We invite all LCOGT science collaboration members to submit proposals to the LCOGT Key Project Program. This includes the LCOGT site partners (ANU, CNTAC, IAC, IfA, NAOC, SAAO, and the University of Texas). It also includes the institutions with which LCOGT has other types of partnerships:  IPAC, University of Colorado, University of California at Santa Barbara, St. Andrews University, and the ARI group at Liverpool John Moores University. Anyone who lists one of these institutions as their affiliation for published research may submit a proposal as PI. We also invite members of LCOGT's extended scientific family. The family includes current staff, astronomers who were postdocs at LCOGT within the last 5 years, and astronomers who contributed to our advisory and allocation committees within the last 2 years .  

Because LCOGT is contributing a large amount of telescope time to support the key project program, we require that collaborators from non-LCOGT institutions commit significant resources to the key project effort. Such resources could include: access to other observing facilities, additional time on LCOGT Network contributed by their own institution, computing resources, or scientist time. Collaborators who participate in key projects should commit to continuing their proposed contribution each semester for the duration of the project. 

Proposal Review Process

All proposals will be reviewed by a Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC) whose members are selected from the astronomical community and are not affiliated with LCOGT. TAC members will be selected such that their expertise covers the range of science topics for which we expect to receive key project proposals. TAC members will also be selected for their understanding of (or experience using) the unique capabilities of LCOGT Network.

The TAC will evaluate the proposals based on the following criteria:

Scientific merit

The value that the proposed project will have both within the area of specialization and, more broadly, within astronomy.

Credibility of effort

The probability that the study can be carried out as described. Are the resources available consistent with what will be needed?

Experimental design

Are the proposed observations and other work consistent with LCOGT network and other capabilities? Has the project thought out in sufficient detail and depth?

Suitability for LCOGT's unique capabilities

Does the proposed study take advantage of the unique aspects of LCOGT network? Will this project demonstrate a result that could not be obtained without LCOGT?

Resources brought by other collaborators

While we want to encourage collaboration among the institutions that have worked together to create LCOGT Network, we also want the burden of carrying out large projects to be shared. We imagine that collaborators may have a wide range of resources to offer, and we leave it to proposers to be creative.

The TAC will rank the proposals and will make a recommendation to the LCOGT Director, who will allocate Network time based on the TAC's recommendation as well as programmatic considerations.

Proposal Submission

Key project proposals must be submitted through LCOGT's website. Before you can submit a proposal, you must register at LCOGT's Observatory portal. When you have access to the portal, you can click on the "Create or edit proposals" link to access the web-based proposal form. (The form will be made available during the week of 21 December 2015.) Make sure that you specify that you are submitting a key project proposal.

We recommend that you consult the Guidelines for Writing Proposals. The Guideline page contains a description of the proposal format, information on the available instruments, and links to the Observatory Tools. The tools that are particularly useful when preparing proposals are the exposure time calculator and the target visibility calculator, which shows how observable a given position (RA & Dec) is on the LCOGT Network.

Observing Modes

LCOGT supports two observing modes: queue-scheduled and rapid-response. Queue-scheduled observations are sequences of one or more "blocks", defined by a single window (for one) or a cadence (for more than one). A block is a set of integrations, intended to be executed contiguously. A block may be several identical exposures or it may involve filter changes or exposure time changes. Rapid-response observations are intended to take place as quickly as possible (typically within 12 minutes of the target's availability). Execution of a rapid-response observation will terminate an ongoing queue-scheduled block. Proposals must request queue-scheduled and rapid-response observations separately, and rapid-response requests must be adequately justified.

Observation Overheads and Time Charging Policy

Time charged includes all the overhead associated with slewing the telescope, acquiring the target, preparing the instrument, and reading out the detector, in addition to the actual exposure time.  You should include overheads in the time request in your proposal. Overhead information is available in a table in the Guidelines for Writing Proposals, as well as on the Instruments page. Use the appropriate Slew & Settle time and Acquisition & Setup time for each new object, then add the readout time for each separate exposure.

Time is charged for all exposures attempted, regardless of the quality or delivery of the data. 

The Observatory portal displays the hours of an approved allocation that have been used. 

The deadline for submission is 8 February 2016, 23:59 UTC.